The Lord of the Rings Sets Release Date for New Anime

The Lord of the Rings is ready to make a return to Hollywood, and its Amazon debut promises to be overshadowed in a couple of years. After all, the franchise is pursuing a prequel to Peter Jackson’s films, and the epic has finally found a release date. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim will debut in spring 2024, and fans won’t want to miss any part of its action.

The report comes from Variety as Warner Bros. Pictures confirmed the anime will debut on April 12, 2024. The movie is being produced by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation with animation being done at Sola Entertainment in Japan.

For those unfamiliar with this title, The War of the Rohirrim was announced back in June 2021 as a prequel to Peter Jackson’s movie franchise. This new entry is set two centuries before J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. It follows the journey made by Helm Hammerhand as Helm’s Deep was created and his exploits as the King of Rohan. 

The War of the Rohirrim promises to bring Jackson’s films back to the headlines, and it will make history as the franchise’s first anime adaptation. Kenji Kamiyama is directing the project with producer Joseph Chou. As you can see above, the team at Sola Entertainment has provided concept art for the film, and The War of the Rohirrim will borrow heavily from Jackson’s aesthetic.

“The ‘Lord of the Rings’ films took Tolkien’s masterwork to new cinematic heights and inspired a generation,” Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman, said in a new statement. “It’s a gift to be able to revisit Middle-earth with many of the same creative visionaries and the talented Kenji Kamiyama at the helm. This will be an epic portrayal unlike anything audiences have ever seen.”

At this point, no casting announcements have been made for The War of the Rohirrim. Fans can expect such news shortly, and we’re keeping fingers crossed that a trailer will be ready by this winter!

What do you think about this latest Lord of the Rings update? Will you be checking out this prequel? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.